Gunmen kill a senior Mexico policeman, wife

MEXICO CITY 
The head of Mexican state police department targeting car thieves has been slain by gunmen who attacked his vehicle.

The attorney general's office of Jalisco state says Jesus Quirarte Ruvalcaba and his wife, Maria Guadalupe Aldrete Rosales, were killed Thursday morning in the city of Zapopan on the outskirts of Guadalajara.

Authorities say Quirarte and Aldrete were apparently on their way to work in a state-owned Dodge Ram when gunmen fired on them. Investigators found about 100 9 mm and 7.62 mm casings at the scene.

Violence has spread in Jalisco recently as rival gangs battle for control of crime. On Feb. 12, armed men attacked a Guadalajara nightclub, killing six people and wounding dozens more.